About The Journal

The Journal of Circular Economy (JoCE) is an academic journal publishing articles within the field of circular economy (CE). JoCE accepts articles regardless of national origin, in English. JoCE is an interdisciplinary journal that aims to provide practical advice to businesses, policymakers, and civil society on accelerating the transition towards a more circular economy.

The concept of circular economy pertains to the efforts of limiting the use of virgin materials. This includes but is not limited to activities which reduce, reuse and recycle resources and is therefore a crucial tool to increase the sustainability of the economy, improve the quality of life of people, and reduce the environmental consequences of human related activities.

Specific subject areas include, but are not limited to:

Circular business models, circular start-ups, circular business model experimentation
Dynamic capabilities for a circular economy
Circular supply chains, reverse logistics
Circular economy policies and governance
Barriers and enablers to the circular economy
Sustainability transition theory and circular economy
Social, environmental and economic impacts of circular economy
Circular rebound
Circular degrowth
Circular economy terminology

And more…

Any disciplinary approach is welcome. Any methodological approach is welcome.

Publication formats

Articles published in the Journal of Circular Economy aim to be particularly succinct to reach both academic and practical audiences. Accordingly, we encourage that
articles do not exceed 6,000 words; however, we welcome longer submissions when
the depth or complexity of the topic requires it, leaving the final decision to the
handling editor. Articles published in the Journal of Circular Economy must include implications for circular economy practice.

The following types of articles are published in Circular Economy:

Research article: Standard research papers of 3,500 – 6,000 words in length, excluding tables, illustrations, and references. Length exceptions may be granted by the Handling Editor on a case by case basis. Length exceptions may be granted by the Handling Editor on a case by case basis.

Review: Articles which summarize the state-of-the-art circular economy research in a particular sub-field. Narrative reviews, meta-syntheses and meta-analyses are considered. 4,500 – 6,000 words in length, excluding tables, illustrations and references.

Perspective: Papers in an “op-ed” style that share a particular perspective on circular economy. Usually 800-1,000 words excluding tables, illustrations, and references. Length exceptions may be granted by the Handling Editor on a case by case basis.

Articles published in the Journal of Circular Economy are accompanied by an abstract that is ca. 150 words. Suggested structure of Research articles and Reviews: Introduction, theoretical framing, methods, results, discussion, recommendations. There is no suggested structure for Perspectives.

We encourage you to publish any original data that your article is based on alongside your article.

Formatting information for authors

Publication Fees

The Journal of Circular Economy aims to be a low-cost publisher. We continuously attempt to undercut publication fees of comparable academic journals also publishing on circular economy by at least 70%. All journal operations are financed by Article Processing Charges (APC model) which vary depending on the article format and an unconditional grant by Roskilde University. Articles are published once accepted. This also includes articles that are part of a special issue.

Our current publication charges for authors (applicable only upon acceptance of their article):

– Research article: 580 EUR
– Review article: 580 EUR
– Perspective: 480 EUR

Discounts are possible for students publishing their research with us, for independent scholars and/or authors from the Global South as well as any other authors from groups that are typically marginalized in the academy. Discounts are currently provided on a case-by-case basis. All articles are published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

For waivers, questions or concerns we kindly ask you to reach out to our editorial team to discuss further details: [email protected]

Peer-Review

This journal operates a double-blind peer-review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by an editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then sent to a minimum of one independent expert reviewer to assess the scientific quality of the paper. Reviewers are encouraged to submit their review within 14 days upon receipt of the paper. We are the very first academic journal, as far as we are aware, that pays an honorarium to its reviewers. Authors are asked to revise their paper, if possible, within a month. The Journal of Circular Economy considers iteration as central to hone the quality of academic work. Multiple rounds of review are thus possible and, in our view, also desirable. We encourage authors to already publish their work in preprint servers such as SocArXiv, while it is under review with the Journal of Circular Economy.

We evaluate submitted manuscripts based on their methodological rigor and high ethical standards, regardless of perceived novelty. Accordingly, we publish works that are replication studies as well as studies that report negative and null results. Overall, the aim of the Journal of Circular Economy is to help authors to improve their manuscript so that it becomes publishable in a respected academic outlet. Accordingly, the Journal of Circular Economy is not a gatekeeper to publishing circular economy research, but an ally to those dedicated to circular economy scholarship and practice. The decision to accept a manuscript for publication is entirely left to the handling editor(s) of a paper.

For questions about the editorial process, please contact:
[email protected]

Indexing

The Journal of Circular Economy is indexed with the Web of Science (WoS) database in Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) (recently accepted and not publicly visible) as well as in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and in the application process for Scopus indexing.

Publishing Schedule

As of 2024, JoCE publishes regular issues biannually, on June 30 and December 31. Special issues do not follow a fixed schedule. Manuscripts are published on a rolling basis within the relevant issue, either a regular issue or a designated special issue, depending on the time of acceptance and special issue status.

Regular issues include a “publication ahead of print” listing to indicate their upcoming closure. Special issues display an expected closure date but are not bound to be published before subsequent regular issues, as they follow a more flexible timeline. There is no set limit to the number of manuscripts that may be included in either regular or special issues.

Open Access

The Journal of Circular Economy only publishes open access articles under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Under this license, authors agree to make articles legally available for reuse, without permission or fees, for virtually any purpose. Anyone may copy, distribute, or reuse these articles, if the author and original source are properly cited.

Formatting

The Journal of Circular Economy follows ‘Your Paper, Your Way’. This means that no specific formatting is required for any submission to the Journal of Circular Economy. Upon acceptance, formatting requirements apply, please see here.

Declaration of Competing Interests

Corresponding authors, on behalf of all the authors of a submission, must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding.